Julie Roehm’s The Conversational Podcast leads her to chat with several executives and change makers in the marketing industry with whom she shares a passion for storytelling. The Conversational is Roehm’s opportunity to connect with others who have experience in the marketing, advertising, and digital spaces and get their stories out to a broader base of listeners. In her recent discussion with Beth Comstock, former vice chair of innovation at GE and current best-selling author, she found common ground to stand on when it came to leveraging communications and narrative to connect with audiences of all types. Connecting with Comstock was of particular significance because of Julie Roehm unique trailblazer career path and her use of storytelling.
The interview covered several topics, from Comstock’s diverse employment history and marketing industry progression to her propensity to tell stories even at a young age. Roehm was quick to key into the fact that Comstock had been crafting tales since childhood and could not let go of that love of narrative even as she progressed through her college education.
As she found herself challenged in her career, she saw opportunities to grow and evolve. Roehm pointed out that “sometimes shutting the door on your face is what you need to open that other one.” Even the most disappointing experiences can be chances for change and a new take on a career, as Comstock experienced when she pivoted from on-camera journalism to working at NBC as a publicity coordinator.
Roehm and Comstock also discussed what it was like to overcome misogyny in the workplace at a time when women were not treated fairly compared to men. Both had experienced this firsthand and were innovators in their industries, taking on roles previously never held by women. Roehm celebrated Comstock’s achievements, saying “A woman is being put there. They’re recognizing somebody in the marketing role at a quintessentially manufacturing behemoth, to come and help to be part of that leadership.” Beth Comstock shared that she was proud to represent a change in a company that never before represented women in leadership with equity.
As the two women discussed Comstock’s career history, it became clear that she had been a leader for change in a fast-moving world. Having worked at NBC Universal, CBS, and CNN/Turner Broadcasting, she had a strong background in media relations and marketing. She also oversaw, similar to Roehm’s career path, the digital evolution of the television and media industries, which required an aptitude to embrace omnichannel marketing and media efforts to bring about additional ad revenue from fairly traditional television mediums. Throughout her journey, she continued to find innovative ways to tell the story of the brand she was representing and use that narrative to connect with consumers in effective and measurable ways.
The conversation turned to Comstock’s current efforts as an author, which she pursued after leaving her position at GE. Roehm found this experience relatable, having made several transitions in her own career. “That feeling of ending, you suddenly go from this 24/7 over decades to now there’s nothing there.” Yet Comstock found the process of writing her first book, “Imagine It Forward,” to be rewarding and more engaging than she expected.
The huge project took on a life of its own as she sought a way to share her story as someone dedicated to bringing change to laggard industries and business practices. A female leader in a male-dominated organizational structure, Comstock discussed the importance of taking risks and defying convention while advising other up-and-coming leaders to leverage creativity while embracing failure as a learning experience. Her quest to write a book was inspired partly by her mentorship role at GE where she would help guide new managers as they progressed.
She found the process rewarding and wanted to leverage any way she could to get the story out so that people could make an impact no matter their experience or path. When starting the book, Comstock explained, “There’s a way to capture some of my mistakes and my learnings and try to offer it to people who are looking for that encouragement right now.”
It became clear throughout the conversation that change was a common theme throughout Comstock’s and Roehm’s careers. Embracing change has been a major part of how Comstock approached business, being able to flex as corporate needs evolved, industries shifted, and work demands became more or less strenuous. Through her experience with her book, Beth Comstock explained that “it’s been good to connect and to see that there is this group of people who are hungry for new ways of doing it.
And so that’s been nice to connect and also to connect with some business leaders in different industries and realize when people are people…And right now everybody’s just crazy with the pace of change and the world’s complexity.” That included how her time at GE quickly ended, forcing Comstock to innovate herself once more. Roehm also found this relatable, having experienced her fair share of adversity when it came to approaching new industries and roles with adaptability and poise.
In the end, Beth Comstock and Julie Roehm set an example for listeners everywhere that change and adversity can go a long way in building personal character and leading to positive outcomes, even if it may not seem likely. Listeners can benefit from hearing Comstock’s story and Roehm’s take on how endings and challenges can be new beginnings for career-driven individuals. Taking experiences where they have been challenged and using them as opportunities to grow their confidence and demonstrate their skills in the face of adversity brought the two career women together in more ways than one. Listen to the complete The Conversational podcast on Julie Roehm’s website: https://www.julieroehm.com/conversational/interview-with-beth-comstock-author
